AURORA, Colo. — Aurora police are investigating a shooting that left five victims, who range in age from 16 to 20, wounded outside a party on East Colfax Avenue overnight. Police are working to identify a suspect or suspects and no arrests have been made.
Police said all the victims are males and are expected to survive their injuries.
The shooting occurred near N. Dayton Street and E. Colfax Avenue sometime around midnight Sunday, according to the Aurora Police Department.
Arriving officers found two gunshot victims at the scene and they were transported to the hospital. Three other victims self-transported and showed up at the hospital soon after.
The department said officers arriving on scene encountered a large crowd of people leaving the area who are believed to have been attending a party at 9709 East Colfax Avenue.
It’s unclear at this time if the shooting is connected to that party.
No other details are expected to be released Sunday.
The shooting happened down the street from the Dayton Street Opportunity Center,where city and state leaders met Monday to discuss shootings like these.
"To see what has gone on in the community since I went to high school, there is just … it's astounding," Jason McBride, secondary violence prevention specialist at the Struggle of Love Foundation, said Sunday.
He attended the meeting, along with State Sen. Rhonda Fields, APD Chief Vanessa Wilson and APS Superintendent Rico Munn.
"These kids now are … they're in a kill or be killed mentality," he said.
Sunday's shooting follows the one at Nome Park on Nov. 15 and the one at the Hinkley High School parking lot days later. A total of nine teens were injured in both shootings.
Wilson addressed the ongoing problem at a prayer gathering Saturday.
"I know we want to be those cool parents, but we can't be anymore. We need to be in their backpacks, we need to be in their bedrooms, and we need to really be engaged and involved," she said.
McBride hopes the community can work to find a solution soon.
"We talk on the news, we get interviewed, and then everybody goes back to their lives and it all quiets down. And then we're like, 'OK, we solved those problems,' and didn't actually do anything. We just … it just stopped. … for whatever reason. We're not gonna stop this time," he said.
Investigators are asking anyone who has information about this case to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
